New York City is 'back from the brink,' says mayor in upbeat speech

After facing mounting challenges in his second year in office, Mayor Eric Adams used his third State of the City address Wednesday to provide a rah-rah overview of his tenure, touting improvements in public safety and jobs emphasized while at the same time downplaying the migrant crisis. overwhelmed New York City's shelter system.

Mr Adams claimed the city was moving in the right direction and chose not to dwell on his earlier warning that the migrant crisis would destroy it. He focused on three themes: protecting public safety, rebuilding the economy after the ravages of the pandemic and making the city more livable.

“The state of our city is strong, much stronger than it was two years ago,” Mr. Adams said during the speech at Hostos Community College in the Bronx. “I want to thank every hardworking New Yorker for helping bring our city back from the brink.”

Mr. Adams, a Democrat, recognized the need to address the city's affordability and housing crisis. And while he didn't unveil any major initiatives, he announced a plan to build 24 affordable housing projects on city-owned properties.

Other proposals included an advisory identifying social media as a public health hazard and a plan to shorten the timeline for resolving disciplinary complaints against police officers.

Mr. Adams, a former police officer who ran for mayor on a public safety message, is running for re-election next year. As his popularity has plummeted in recent months, more Democrats are considering entering the race.

The speech felt like a campaign rally and the room was filled with cheering union workers, including members of the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and 32BJ-SEIU, which represents construction workers, security guards and airport workers. Some of them enthusiastically reenacted some of the mayor's call-and-response chants from the stage.

Mr Adams has repeatedly focused on crime and employment, revealing a theme that 'crime has gone down' and 'employment has gone up'. But the city's overall crime rate has fallen only slightly, while crime is declining nationwide, and the city has been slower to recover jobs than much of the country.

A large crowd of protesters gathered outside the speech to call on Mr. Adams to close the Rikers Island jail complex and attack his budget cuts that would affect the city's libraries, schools and public housing.

With slogans like “The Mayor's Budget is the Worst, Time to Put People First” and “Housing, Not Handcuffs,” protesters banged drums, shook tambourines and waved picket signs.

James Davis, the president of a union representing faculty at the City University of New York, criticized the mayor, an alumnus of City Tech and John Jay Colleges, for giving the speech at the community college while cutting funding for CUNY.

“CUNY is not in strong shape right now,” Mr. Davis said, noting that city colleges have cut courses and instituted hiring freezes.

Affordability and housing are likely to be key issues in the 2025 mayoral race, and Mr. Adams seemed to acknowledge that he must address them more forcefully. Rents have skyrocketed and many black families have left the city due to the rising cost of living.

Earlier this week, Mr. Adams announced a plan to eliminate the medical debt of as many as 500,000 New Yorkers.

“These are the kinds of creative ways that we really want to alleviate some of the challenges of living in the city,” Mr. Adams said at a news conference on Tuesday. “Cities are becoming increasingly expensive. The government must find ways to reduce costs and put money back into the pockets of ordinary taxpayers.”

Mr. Adams announced a new “renter protection cabinet” to keep New Yorkers in their homes, and the expansion of a “homeowner help desk.” But the mayor has faced criticism for his housing policies, including supporting rent increases for rent-stabilized apartments and vetoing a City Council bill to expand a housing voucher program.

The mayor also announced the redesign of a plaza in Manhattan's Chinatown and plans to create a department to regulate delivery drivers.

The migrant crisis has presented Mr. Adams with a huge challenge as more than 170,000 immigrants have arrived in the city, an influx that has continued this winter and forced some families to sleep in the snow.

After implementing several rounds of unpopular budget cuts that the mayor blamed on the migrant crisis, Mr. Adams recently indicated that the city's financial prospects had become less bleak.

Despite his upbeat tone, Mr. Adams faces enormous obstacles this year: a federal investigation into his campaign fundraising; a threat from City Council leaders to override his veto of two bills aimed at documenting police stops and ending solitary confinement in city jails; and a looming battle with state lawmakers over expanding the mayor's control over schools.

Basil Smikle, director of Hunter College's Public Policy Program, said the mayor was wise to focus on his achievements, such as his successful partnership with Governor Kathy Hochul. Mr. Adams and Ms. Hochul, who keep a close eye on the city's finances, have a better working relationship than their predecessors.

“New Yorkers don't know enough about his real successes,” Mr. Smikle said. “He must set priorities for a year in which the country will focus on national politics.”

Mr. Adams ended the speech by acknowledging that many New Yorkers were struggling despite his rosier predictions for the city's future.

“Our city is full of questions and contradictions – the safest big city in America, but one where too many people feel vulnerable and afraid,” he said. “It's a place where the economy is booming, but too many people aren't getting their fair share. These contradictions and so many others are what we are trying to change.”

Reporting was contributed by Erin Nolan, Jeffery C Mays And Dana Rubinstein.